THE LUNA CHOOSING GAME - Season 7 Episode 26

Later, I left Elva to play with her Nanny and her dolls, and joined Tiffany, Veronica, and Julian for a meeting in our sitting room/investigatory office. No one seemed terribly excited today, as we didn’t have any good news to share. “There’s not much progress today, I’m afraid,” Julian said. “In fact, we might even have backwards progress.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

*I tried to track down the older couple that crossed the border with the two babies,” Julian continued. He pushed his hand through his hair and sighed. “They are long dead, and from what I can tell, they took all their secrets with them.”

“They didn’t have children,” Veronica chimed in. “No other relatives from what I can tell.”

*They might have confided with a neighbor or a friend,” Tiffany suggested.

Julian pointed at her. “I was thinking that too. Well, hoping it more like. We tracked down their last known location.” Julian motioned toward the map of the kingdom that he had hanging behind him on the board. “They spent their twilight years here.” He pointed at a spot on the map.

Tiffany came closer to see. “I know where that is. It’s pretty close. Just like… thirty minutes from here? Maybe? With no traffic.”

Ads by Pubfuture

Something sparked in Julian’s eye. It looked like mischief. I braced myself for whatever wild plan he was about to reveal.

“We should go there tomorrow.”

The elimination ceremony was set for the day after tomorrow, so theoretically, we could make this work if it was only a day trip.

“If they are both dead,” Veronica said, “I doubt we would find much info.”

“Maybe,” Julian said. “But if they did make friends… we have to be certain. Buckle in, Veronica. We’re in this for the long haul. We have to exhaust every avenue, purpose every lead just to be certain they are in fact dead ends.”

“I suppose,” Veronica said with a tiny shrug. She seemed resolved to join Julian on whatever scheme he plotted.

Tiffany seemed more excited. “I want to be able to help while I can,” Tiffany said. “If we wait any longer than going tomorrow, it will be too late for me, and I’ll be eliminated.”

Silence fell over us. Julian hummed as he awkwardly turned toward the map.

Ads by Pubfuture

He pulled up his phone. “I’ll make arrangements,” he said and stepped to the side away from us to make his calls.

When it was clear he was otherwise engaged, Tiffany looked at Veronica and me.

“Don’t give me those sad eyes, girls,” Tiffany said. “We’ve always known I’m the next to go out of the three of us.” “I have every much a chance to be eliminated as you,” Veronica said.

Tiffany shook her head. “You don’t see the way he looks at the two of you. Veronica, he admires you so much. And Piper…”

I waved off her comment. I already knew Julian’s feelings for me, as did Veronica. It wasn’t too surprising that Tiffany had been able to pick up on it as well.

“Don’t lie to me,” Tiffany said. “Don’t pretend otherwise. When the time comes, and Julian has to pick two, I’m not going to be in that number.”

*Julian likes you,” I said.

Tiffany gave me a small smile. “I know that. We are friends. And when the count was three, I could make it easy.

But it’s not three anymore. A friend won’t make it further than third, when the competition is to find a lover and wife.”

“He could do so much worse than you,” Veronica said.

Tears began to well in her eyes. “Don’t soften the blow, now.” She sniffed. “The worst part is, I’m going to miss you guys so much.”

Veronica’s lip twitched. “You aren’t dying, Tiffany.”